Injured Reserve Already Crowded for NHL 2013-14 Opening Week

A plethora of teams will begin their 2013-14 NHL seasons handicapped after some tough, injury-laden training camps.

Hockey's opening week, which begins with three games Tuesday night and by Friday will have dropped the puck on every club's season, will be without a number of impact players and high-profile stars across the continent.

Nineteen teams are set to begin their campaigns with a key contributor missing, as 38 noteworthy, full-time NHLers already lie disabled on injured reserve.

The following list (per TSN, ESPN and CBS) outlines both players currently on the IR list as well as other injured players expected to be placed on injured reserve in the coming days.

Which NHL team will be hurt most by injuries in opening week?

Carolina Hurricanes

Detroit Red Wings

Edmonton Oilers

Montreal Canadiens

Nashville Predators

Pittsburgh Penguins

A cornucopia of other stars are also in danger of missing their team's season opener, despite their presence on the active roster.

Players such as Calgary's Mike Cammalleri, Carolina's Alexander Semin and Elias Lindholm, Columbus' Nikita Nikitin, Detroit's Daniel Alfredsson and Danny DeKeyser, Edmonton's David Perron, Los Angeles's Dustin Brown and Robyn Regehr, Nashville's Pekka Rinne and Patric Hornqvist, New Jersey's Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik and Vancouver's David Booth are all in significant danger of missing a game or two this week.

The list of day-to-day stars is almost as long as the list of IR-sidelined stars.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Daniel Alfredsson, perhaps the biggest surprise mover of the 2013 offseason, could miss Detroit's opening game against Buffalo.

Carolina, Detroit, Edmonton and Montreal will feel the biggest injury-related impact in their season debuts; Friday's meeting between the former two and next Thursday's match between the latter two should be interesting duels of highly undermanned teams.

As the festivities and excitement of the NHL's opening week get under way, a large portion of the league will have to consider their wins and losses with a grain or two of salt.